As part of the ageing process there is a multi-system loss of cellular function, there is loss of elasticity of amongst other organs, the lungs and arterial vessels. In addition there is development of atheromatous plaques affecting the internal lumen of the arteries.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is also known as chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD), chronic airflow limitation (CAL) and chronic obstructive respiratory disease. It is a poorly reversible condition which usually gets progressively worse over time and refers to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of two commonly co-existing diseases of the lungs in which the airways become narrowed. This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs causing shortness of breath. The diagnosis of COPD requires lung function tests. Important management strategies are smoking cessation, vaccinations, rehabilitation, and drug therapy (often using inhalers). Some patients go on to requiring long-term oxygen therapy or lung transplantation. Worldwide, COPD ranked sixth as the cause of death in 1990 and the economic burden of COPD in the U.S. in 2007 was $42.6 billion in health care costs and lost productivity.
Impaired arterial blood flow is usually the result of atheromatous plaques and severe arterial occlusions are generally treated surgically whilst milder occlusions are treated by drug therapy (typically a combination of aspirin and 62-blockers) along with life style changes. Atheromatous plaques ultimately reduces the blood flow through the affected artery which ultimately leads to the destruction of the supplied organ due to ischemia. If this occurs in the brain there is a stroke, in the heart, myocardial infarction, in the legs intermittent claudication. At present medication may slow the rate of development of the plaque but it does not fully reverse the presence of the atheromatous plaque and to date there is no treatment that affects or restores the elasticity of the arteries. Impaired arterial blood flow causes a number of conditions depending on which organ or tissue is deprived of a normal oxygen rich blood supply. For example, angina pectoris is chest pain caused by myocardial ischemia, an inadequate supply of blood-borne oxygen to the heart muscle. Patients with stable angina experience pain after exercise or stress, which disappears when they rest. However, if the arterial impairment is in penile arterial flow then the individual may suffer from erectile dysfunction similarly if the flow is restricted in limbs the individual may suffer intermittent claudication or cramping, if the impairment is in renal arterial flow a function then the individual may suffer a decline in renal function which in some cases results in renal failure. If the impaired arterial flow causes transient ischaemic attacks then the brain may be affected.
A cost effective non-invasive treatment that could improve compliance and or elasticity of vessels in particular airway and/or blood vessels and so improve fluid flow in narrowed vessels would offer immediate benefit to sufferers and clinicians alike.
It is known from the prior art that electromagnetic radiation centred at around 1072 nm is particularly effective at treating herpetic and bacterial infections (WO9919024) and that this particular wavelength also can be used cosmetically to ameliorate the appearance of superficial skin fine lines and wrinkles (WO 2006/000757). However, in the present invention it has been found surprisingly that electromagnetic radiation can also be effective in treating other conditions the symptoms and causes of which lie not on the skin surface but deep beneath the surface of the skin.